Soldier And A Sportsperson: Meet The Indian Athletes Who Serves The Nation In Uniform Too

Medals are pouring in for India right now at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. India won five gold, six silver and seven bronze medals so far at the 2022 Birmingham Games.

In absence of the Indian shooting contingent and Neeraj Chopra¡¯s absence, these athletes are giving their best. But, did you know that a lot of them also serve the nation at the border in uniform and bring accolades on the podium?

Nearly 200 Indian athletes will be seen competing for medals across 16 different sports at the Commonwealth Games from July 28 to August 8, and many of these athletes belong to the Indian Armed forces. Here're some of them, let's take a look

General Manoj Pande #COAS and All Ranks of #IndianArmy extend best wishes to #IndianArmy sportspersons representing #India in Commonwealth Games 2022 @birminghamcg22. #CWG2022 #IndianArmy pic.twitter.com/VYwkzD71QG

¡ª ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) July 27, 2022

IAF Warrant Officer Vikas Thakur

More glory at the CWG, this time due to Vikas Thakur, who wins a Silver in Weightlifting. Delighted by his success. His dedication to sports is commendable. Wishing him the very best for upcoming endeavours. pic.twitter.com/IknoAvQiXf

¡ª Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 2, 2022

Weightlifter Vikas Thakur, hailing from Patnaun village in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh, has won a silver medal for India in the Commonwealth Games being organised in Birmingham.

Vikas won the medal in the 96-kg weight category by lifting a total of 346 kg. He lifted 155 kg in snatch and 191 kg in clean and jerk. He had earlier won a bronze medal at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018 and a silver medal at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. He also won the gold in the Singapore Weightlifting Cup in March this year.

Employed with the Indian Air Force as Warrant Officer and posted in Chandigarh, Vikas has been training under national weightlifting coaches in Patiala.

Subedar Amit Panghal

Amit Panghal CWG 2022

Amit Panghal is a medal favourite at the CWG 2022. Panghal had a disastrous Olympics but the 2019 world championships silver medallist will aim to bounce back with a medal at the 2022 CWG. He had won a silver in Gold Coast in 2018.

Amit Panghal will be facing Lennon Mulligan of Scotland in the 51kg in the quarter-final. Panghal defeated Namri Berri of Vanuatu 5-0 in the previous round.

Amit Panghal Indian Army | Twitter

Subedar Amit Panghal of the Indian Army from MAHAR Regiment won gold at the Cologne Boxing World Cup 2020 in Germany and Made the nation proud.

Subedar Md. Hussamudin

Subedar Md. Hussamudin | Twitter

Subedar in the Indian Army and a boxer Mohammad Hussamuddin took control over his Bangladesh counterpart in the Men¡¯s 57 kg category at the Commonwealth Games 2022 on Monday. Hussamuddin dominated his opponent and won the match against Md Salim Hossain 5-0 to enter the featherweight boxing quarterfinals in the CWG 2022.

Naib Subedar Jeremy Lalrinnunga

#IndianArmy congratulates Naib Subedar Jeremy Lalrinnunga @raltejeremy on winning #GoldMedal in #Weightlifting by lifting a total of 300kg (GR) in Men's 67kg Finals at #CommonwealthGames2022. #Cheer4India#IndianArmy #MissionOlympics pic.twitter.com/uRIPlQ53es

¡ª ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) July 31, 2022

When Jeremy Lalrinnunga won the gold medal in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, he became an overnight sensation.

In May 2019, Jeremy joined the Army as a Naib Subedar in the 17th Battalion of the Brigade of Guards. Along with coaching in national camps, he has received training from three coaches at the Boys Sports Company and the ASI. In December 2021, he qualified for the Commonwealth Games.

Indian weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga created history by capturing a gold medal with a record-breaking combined lift of 300 kg in the men¡¯s 67 kg final at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on Sunday.

Havildar Achinta Sheuli

#IndianArmy congratulates Havildar Achinta Sheuli on winning #GoldMedal in #Weightlifting by lifting a total of 313 kg (GR) in Men's 73 kg Finals at #CommonwealthGames2022. #Cheer4India#IndianArmy #MissionOlympics pic.twitter.com/sHpjnVhzdx

¡ª ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) August 1, 2022

When Indian weightlifter Achinta Sheuli won gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022, the Indian Army congratulated the young athlete in Twitter. Achinta Sheuli is an Army Havildar.

Achinta Sheuli clinched a gold medal with a combined lift of 313 kg in the men¡¯s 73 kg final.

During the event, he lifted 143 kg in his last attempt in the snatch round to create a new Commonwealth Games record.

Havildar Yogeshwar Singh

Havildar Yogeshwar Singh | Twitter

Indian gymnast Yogeshwar Singh finished 15th in the men¡¯s all-around final of artistic gymnastics event at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Sunday.

Born in Ambala Cantonment, Haryana. Yogeshwar Singh was a student of the Kurukshetra University and then joined the armed forces where he got a chance to develop into this incredible athlete with the Services Sports Control Board.

IAF Sergeant Gururaja Poojary

IAF Sergeant Gururaja Poojary | Twitter

At CWG 2022, India earned a podium finish in the men's 61-kg category of the event as well, when Gururaja Poojary clinched a bronze in the category.

Gururaja Poojary was born on 15th August 1992 in Udupi, Karnataka and entered the sport of weightlifting in his college years in 2010. However, in 2015 he joined the Indian Air Force as a Sergeant. Poojary was drafted in the national camp in 2016, and that is the year when his long list of achievements began.

Poojary won the gold medal at the Malaysia Commonwealth Championships in 2016, followed by another gold in the South Asian Games that year. In the 2017 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships, Gururaja Poojary clinched the bronze medal. However, his landmark achievement came in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, where he won the silver medal.

Naib Subedar Ajay Singh

#IND's Ajay Singh finishes 4th in the men's 81 kg event ???¡á?#TeamIndia | #Cheer4India | #B2022 | #CWG2022 pic.twitter.com/m3U8QMdmXw

¡ª Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) August 1, 2022

Weightlifter Ajay Singh missed the podium by a whisker in the men¡¯s 81kg finishing fourth with a combined lift of 319 kg with England¡¯s Chris Murray claiming gold with a CWG record of 325 kg, while Kyle Bruce of Australia won silver with a lift of 323. Nicolas Vachon of Canada won bronze with a total list of 320

Singh started with a lift of 137 kg in snatch and completed all three attempts with progressive lifts of 137kg, 141 kg and 144 kg. In clean and jerk he started with 172 kg and added four more kilos with an attempt at 176.

Battling hard for breaking into the top three medal spots, Ajay tried to lift 180kg in his final attempt. But despite taking time and adjusting the grip twice, Ajay failed to successfully complete the lift, finishing at fourth place and was out of medal contention.

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